I am the extremist your Government warned you about....
Remember: "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch".....But you can help when you buy your AMAZON purchases through my links at no cost to you.

As several folks have pointed out, Mr Obama wants us all to stop wasting our time and get to work on the serious things, rather than continue to discuss the reality of the circumstances of his birthplace and subsequent eligibility (or not?) for his present position.

The sad part about that is that shortly after making his statement, he then left for Chicago, ostensibly to tape an episode of Oprah. Now while I am sure that to him this is a Very Important Thing, it really has little to do with his running the country, nor will anything said on Oprah do much to fix the assorted crisis that we find our country in at this time.

Having said that, I would ask.....Who pays for the trip to Chicago? Oprah? Mr. Obama himself? Or is it we, the taxpaying citizens of this country? In no way as far as I can see, does his appearance on Oprah do anything for the running of this country, and produces little (except ratings ( and therefore revenue) for Ms Winfrey). If we the taxpayers are paying for this trip, then we have to ask ourselves WHY? Why are we paying for the transportation to what is essentially a campaign stop for Obama 2012? How much did this little jaunt cost?

And just to be mean, let us ask ourselves why he burned all that expensive aviation kerosene and placed all that carbon into the atmosphere.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

So after a great deal of pressure from The Donald. The white house released THIS.

It appears to be, on the surface, a long form Birth Certificate....Likely from a microfilm backup copy.

And perhaps it is. I am not enough of a document expert to know for sure....

I do have some questions:

Why add the background? The green textured background was obviously added to the image. (notice that it is behind the "roll" as well). To make it look more "Authentic"? The green background is obviously not a part of the document. One would think that to make the question go away, they would have shown the original document in its original form, with no "enhancements"....If only so that the folks on the internet could more easily vet it with no questions asked. (If it is indeed real and not an altered document). I'd likely have been less sceptical had they shown the document as it exists, without the "enhancement".

If you can add the background, then one would wonder what other manipulations could have been done...

And one would wonder why this has been issued NOW? I mean, really, the question has been around since the start of the campaign. The ORIGINAL question was, IIRC, raised by his opponent, before the primaries....by the campaign to elect Hillary Rhodman Clinton, not by the RNC (and certainly not by the press). It was only when The Donald began making a stink about it, and the press finally took notice of that, that the question grew enough legs to make this happen. Really, if this "document" existed all this time, then why did the Obama campaign decide to release this "proof"? And why spend all the money (IIRC, something approaching 3 million relatively worthless dollars to suppress any suits demanding that the proof be shown, if it existed all along?

Fathers race: African? I would have thought they would have put "Negro" or "Black", Especially in 1961....Mother is "Caucasian"....why the inconsistency?

As I said...I don't know enough about the document in question, nor do I have any reason to disbelieve that it is real....But I have no reason to believe that it IS real either. There is just enough to make me wonder.

Perhaps it is all a ploy, to keep the "birthers" wondering and vocal, in order to further cement the base of loyalists. As I don't play in that arena, I really cannot make a decision.

And ultimately, it really doesn't matter, in the short term. He was legally sworn in as President. For the future? Who knows?

Sunday, April 24, 2011

As you may remember, my new 3" Para decided to eat its extractor after 437 rounds about a month ago.

It took several calls to get the Customer Service folks at Para to answer, but eventually they did, and eventually they sent me a new extractor. It has taken me a month to have the time to get to the range and attempt to seriously wring this firearm out.

Same issue. The major part of the extractor claw broke away. Again. 37 goddamn rounds. Empty brass all but falls out of the chamber. It isn't sticking. Nearly the EXACT same failure as before.

I WILL be calling Para for a call tag and sending it back to them this time. I had assumed that the original failure was a one off...maybe a badly heat treated or machined part. It happens. But this is why people should SHOOT their carry firearms. Just to prove their reliability.

I am bummed..... I had wanted to prove its functionality and then send it off for tritium inserts. Was gonna plan on it becoming (once it had proved itself) my Main Carry. Now I am not so terribly sure of I can ever trust it.

I LIKE this firearm. Good trigger. Ergonomics of a 1911. Stainless. assembles like a 1911. Manual of arms like a 1911. Essentially a 1911 with the LDA trigger. I can field strip and clean this thing blindfolded. Seriously. But I am in doubt of it ever being trustworthy.

You, you sniveling asshole, are partly to blame. Despite the fact that the media conveniently fails to bring it up, the fact is that had you let the drilling happen that you fought in the early days of your presidency...That drilling which "would take 2 or three years to come online" WOULD BE COMING ONLINE RIGHT NOW...

You ass. You got what you wanted...High gasoline pricing. You may be able to fool your supporters with the help of the MSM, but the rest of us (perhaps we are smarter than democrats?) were and are aware. Perhaps this is payback to the Green folks for helping to get you elected...Either way, you get what you thought was a good thing. Higher pricing for petroleum.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Symbolism works, I guess, for some people. Makes 'em feel all smug and warm and fuzzy inside or something.

But those well meaning folks will return to their inefficient apartment, in the car that they drove to the Earth Day celebrations, and continue to live their lifestyles, not changing them one bit. I call that hypocrisy.

When they get home they will, no doubt, Feel Good, for they will think that they Have Made A Difference...

Except that they won't have made any difference whatsoever.

Until you change your lifestyle, and convince others to do so voluntarily, then you have not Made A Difference....you have only wasted your time. Singing Kumbayah won't make a difference. Chanting won't make a difference. Marching together in lockstep for a few miles won't make a difference

Cleaning up a park, or a forest does NOTHING to change the earth. If you want to Make A Difference, then BUY a forest....Create habitat for the warm fuzzy (nonhuman) denizens of our earth. If you believe in the Goracle's words, then reduce your carbon usage....(But to do so you'll have to change your lifestyle)....reduce your waste stream. Use less energy. You'll have to do things which are inconvenient to you.

But this symbolic shit, for one day only, is at best mental masturbation..

Thursday, April 21, 2011

We see the intended destruction of the U.S. . The destruction of a Republic which was once the economic engine of the world......Whose promise of freedom and opportunity was once a beacon to many from every other country on this blue globe.

Paranoid? Yes. Perhaps we are. But then again, are we paranoid if there is really someone out to destroy our country? When we see the actions of an individual, aided and abetted by a media with double standards, cheered by a group whose only aim is the devastation of our way of life?

Destruction of our economy....devastation of the dollar....incredible expansion of our State.....Overwhelming deficit.... expansion of entitlements.....

Perhaps the veil is being lifted on the actions of Mr. Obama and his advisors....we already know the aims of his mentors.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

I used to think that Mr. Obama was merely misguided.....but I am beginning to wonder.

Ya 'know, I was thinking the other day about Mr. Obama's budget rantspeech where he stated that he will NOT ever, under any circumstances, reduce the level of subsidy to those he deems worthy....At no time would he consider lowering the benefits doled out to the poor and starving (or whatever criteria he might use....). Instead, despite the deficit being incredible, and approaching limits which are unsustainable, and despite an ever increasing debt level, he would advocate raising taxes on the "rich" (class warfare, the never ending refuge of the liberal....) but never expect those who benefit from such handouts to ever accept less than what they are currently given, and never take any responsibility for themselves.... Even though the average handout benefit has increased by nearly 35% from 2007 to 2010.

At first, I thought that this was just an ideology which I could neither understand nor would I ever find acceptable..... Then I realized that this is a continuation of the Cloward-Piven strategy....Written Large.

While I believe that the entitlement system will never remove poverty, primarily because it rewards "bad" behavior...and does little or nothing to incentivize people to move to a more productive and self reliant lifestyle, and likely perpetuates "poverty" (albeit continually re-defined), I realized that it could be that his actions on the budget and the deficit are likely a giant step forward in the ideology put forth by his mentor, Saul Alinsky...whose writings were an inspiration for both Cloward and Piven.

The aim is to destroy the US through internal revolution. And Mr Obama's actions may well move that goal forward by destroying the earning power of those of us who are left paying taxes....and WILL lead to the destruction of the welfare state. As it is, currently more goes out to the average household than comes in as taxes....Leading to the desired collapse?

One wonders, however, if the destruction which his mentors wish to create, and the resulting revolution will take the form which they envision? Will the destruction of the welfare state do anything to help the "poor"?
Will the destruction of the "welfare state" cause a replacement which is more helpful to the poor....or will it result in something which forces them to make do with less help? Will the revolution actually result in a stronger, more viable welfare state which will give more to the poor and disadvantaged, or will it result in less of a welfare state, with fewer benefits for the "poor"....Will it force the "poor" to reduce their dependence on the largess of others and make them modify their lifestyle to become more self reliant?

One has to question if the strategy of Alinsky (and Cloward and Piven) is designed to do more than just somehow uplift the poor.. ...like help hasten the destruction of the economic health of this country.

And I really don't think they want the type of "revolution" that will result.

Monday, April 18, 2011

If you've read One Second After, (and if you haven't, then you should) then you have an idea as to how bad it could be.... (It likely won't be QUITE as bad as predicted in that story, as that was, of course, fiction, and sensationalized....and was written to frighten people to make the threat of EMP a higher priority than it is today....but it will be bad)

The scenario, that of an EMP event, be it man made or natural, is one of the reasons I strongly suggest that people prepare....Have 90+ days worth of food, and means of getting clean, drinkable water. Just try living without electricity for 24 hours.....Now try living without transportation (and all the things it brings to you, like food, and water, and fuel). Think about how much food will spoil in your house alone without electricity....Will you be able to cook and prepare the food you have without electrons? Yeah, you have a gas stove. How are you gonna use the gas stove if the electronics that control the pumps and valves which deliver that gas to your home aren't working? (Those of you with electric stoves are screwed)...

How about the food that you buy at the store? If (and it is an if) the trucks that deliver it are operable, they will soon stop because because electronics and electricity are needed to meter, control, and move that fuel to the fueling stations. Not to mention that the store won't be able to take anything but cash.....and there isn't enough actual cash existing in this country to meet the needs, even if you could move it to the banks....and assuming that the bank could somehow figure out how to give you what is in your account......that they can't access because the server for their computerized records isn't operable.....if it isn't fried. Of course, the good news might be that they won't be able to tell how much you owe them either..... But what are we gonna do for a medium of exchange....assuming that you will have job without electricity....

Heat your house? Not a chance.....AC in the South? If you can't live without AC, then you'd better pay attention here.

How many meals are there in your house right now? How would you get water if there wasn't municipal water working. (or, if you have a well, no electricity)?

Yeah, you think you are prepared.....you have a generator. If it is natural gas powered, then you are screwed. 2 days, tops, then the natural gas pressure fails. Gasoline powered? You are only good for a few days, maybe a week tops. It is hard to store that much gasoline: at best you can store it for 6 months. And that much gasoline is a real hazard. Most air cooled gasoline engines are designed for rebuild or replacement after 250-400 hours of operation. Do you stock oil for the crankcase? How about oil filters? Air filters? Diesel? Yeah, but how much fuel can you store? Same with propane. A few months, tops, if you are lucky, using those two last fuels. And that assumes that your gennie survives the EMP (mine will fail, but I have the parts stored to fix it, and it is diesel, and I keep enough fuel to run for about 4 hours a day for 180 days..... And I have lots of space....., but likely not enough fuel either)

Try an "experiment"....Some time soon (I highly suggest starting on a Friday night) turn off all your breakers that control everything except for your fridge and freezer (no sense in wasting all that food!). All of 'em. Turn off your gas, and turn off your water. If you really want a lesson, use no food that was trucked to your location or stored at any point using electricity to keep it fresh.....

Think about it. Yer gonna get hungry quickly, thirsty too. Yer house is gonna start to smell....You are going to get either cold or hot, depending on your location (maybe both). Life isn't going to be comfortable. I'll bet that few people will be able to deal with it for 12 hours, much less a weekend....and a significant part of that time you will likely be sleeping.

Now think about the fact that farmers need fuel for their tractors and harvesting equipment. Drying the grain so it doesn't mold or otherwise spoil. Fertilizer is trucked in, as is seed grain (few modern high yield hybrid grains will germinate a second generation). Fuel to bring that food to a distribution point. Fuel for you to get to that point and to bring you and it home.....Some means of exchange so you can purchase that food.....Starting to get the idea yet?

It isn't all bad news though. Would the US be able to deal with large scale EMP damage? Yep. We are, despite the fact that we are spoiled, a resilient people. Some folks might die (hopefully not many), and many would live only because the government would feed and house them. Whether that would include you would depend a lot on your state of preparedness.You can decide today if you want to live in a government shelter...under authoritarian rule...or not. Will you go when you get hungry enough? How about when your kids get hungry?

The only difference between most people and those who were forced to shelter in the Superdome during and after Katrina is a matter of degree. Few people have enough preparation for a serious event. You may have financial means to deal with the problems, and insurance to recover your losses, but what if there is little food or no decent shelter without electricity and no infrastructure for you to access those finances? And nothing that you can spend that money on to change your situation! Seriously. All the money in the world won't help if there is nothing to buy. And, of course, such an event would bankrupt the insurance folks....

It's not all bad though.

Things would begin to get better after a few months. Most of the infrastructure will still be there. The wires and the power plants will, for the most part, still exist. So the only thing we will need to replace would be the control circuitry and the transformers. Maybe a few switches. You flat screen will likely be toast, as will your telephone and internet and the computer on your desk. But we can live without those. In a few months power will return, and things will, if not return to normal, at least return to livable. Some systems we can do without, some will be jury rigged. Food and fuel distribution will return, in some form.

But you'd better be self sufficient for a few months, maybe better 6 or more. If you have a house with a basement or a garage, you can easily do it. If you live in an apartment, you can rent a storage garage for a few bucks a month. You might even have one already. How far is it from where you live?

Sometime later, I think I'll discuss the issues with the fact that people are people. Human nature being what it is, and the issues with the thinness of the veneer of "civilized behavior" and the ramifications of that when our system of laws and governance (which are fueled by, or at least aided by, electricity and energy) is in disrepair or inoperable due to lack of electricity and fuel....coupled with the fact that everyone will likely be hungry and thirsty......and have kids who are hungry and thirsty. And how that, coupled with the fact that you have food and they don't. can lead to..."issues".... And how you can prepare for that.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

I find it interesting that Mr Obama and the liberal section of the Democratic wing feels that by not raising taxes on those who make more money than me, they are somehow "giving benefits to the wealthy"....You know, those folks who actually generate a significant portion of the actual tax dollars that fuel the economy, and who risk their money to invest in businesses which, you know, actually employ people....those same employees who then pay taxes.

What really gets me angry is not only the outright lies about the above subjects, but the fundamental difference between my thought processes and theirs: That the solution to the problem is to raise taxes on whomever they can, in order to pay for their spending......The spending that they did every time they had a spare dollar (or dollar of debt) that they could shake loose from somewhere. They never stop their spending....They spend as much as they can, and then, when their excesses begin to bear fruit in the form of deficits, and someone wishes to cut that spending to a lower level, they cry "foul" and complain that the cut in spending will somehow damage those who benefit from that largesse..."You want old people to have to eat dog food to survive!"....even though a year or two before, those same folks ate well enough when the budget for their handout was 1/3 less. The bombast and invective, while amusing, becomes irritating over time, due to the unreality and falseness.

I tire of the bullshit, from both sides. But I must say that I find our more, shall we say, liberal lawmakers are worst...And their policies are all the more irritating because of their philosophy of "take from those who make more and give to those who make less....for whatever reason that situation may exist"

Gonna go to the range and try out my new rifle yesterday. I had planned this day, based on weather reports. A rare thing.....A day off in the middle of the week, when the range is less crowded....

But when I woke up feeling like I had been in a bar fight (I don't mind feeling this way, I just prefer to drink enough to be hung over and remember why the fight started....Except that I haven't been in a bar in weeks) running a fever and all that, I wasn't too sure that I wanted to go.....Chills, fever, runny nose and the shakes weren't gonna make for the best day at the range.

But after a shower, I wasn't nearly as shaky, so I thought that I'd give it a try, even if it meant that I might not be able to really find out how well the new rifle would shoot. So I loaded the rifle, the range bag, the benchrest and a whole shitload of .223 (Lake City) (it goes stale you know....you might as well shoot it before it goes bad....) into the car and began the journey to the DNR range, about 35 minutes away.

Less than halfway there, I realized that I was sick enough that I should not be driving a car, much less handling and firing a lethal weapon. So I turned around and went home. Unloaded the car and went into the house and crawled back into bed.

Bummer. It is supposed to be rainy and windy for the next week. I'll likely not get to the range for at least another 2 weeks.And that is if the weather cooperates with me on my days off.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Not only are they GIVING away Space Shuttles, they are spending significant dollars decommissioning them so that they can safely be used as a draw for tourists in major metro areas. Why is NASA spending the money, and why are they giving them away? They aughta be auctioned off to the highest bidder, be that a private individual or a municipality. Big bux to be made there. The caveat to the purchase would of course be that the buyer, not the seller, pay for the decommissioning and decontamination so that the public can be safe while viewing/climbing on/photographing them.

Go HERE to learn even more....The SRB's (Solid Rocket Boosters) get transported back to Utah and REFURBISHED before storage, just in case we ever need them again (4, 17). AFAIK, they were designed for, and used only on, the Shuttle. Why refurb and store these when they can only be used on a platform which is being decommissioned? Anyone....Bueller? (one hint....Smells like Bacon/rhymes with "fork")

Billions of dollars of hardware given away, and millions more to make them safe for public consumption. Why? Political connections? Favors? Cronyism?

After sleeping, that the gist of Mr. Obama's speech is that his vision of the United States is one of continued (if not expanded) Socialism.

He stated that he will not allow any decrease in government assistance to those folks who, for whatever reason, cannot take care of themselves. He feels that it is the responsibility of those who are, shall we say, more successful, to provide for those who are....not successful. There is no provision made for, or consideration of, why there is a relative difference in the level of "success". Forward planning, life choices, levels of saving, etc. have no bearing.

Further, he stated that he would remove "spending reductions in the tax code"....."newspeak" for increased taxes and reductions of exemptions in order to increase tax revenues at the expense of those of us who actually pay federal income tax. He will punish those who have chosen to invest in their future by purchasing a home, or working harder in order to advance in their field in order to increase their earning power to create a solid, secure future for themselves and their descendants in order to provide for those who for whatever reason, are unwilling or unable to provide for themselves

As Marx said: "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs"... The issue is what we each feel are needs, and the choices that we make in order to meet those needs, both in the present and in the future.

Ultimately, it comes down to the philosophical difference between those of us who feel that it is the responsibility of the individual to provide for his or her needs, and those who feels that it is the responsibility of the State to provide for our needs....much less decide what those needs might be. He somehow finds meaning in the Constitution that I miss....that it is allowed that the State do things that I do not see in that document with taxes.....More than roads, and military, and coinage and such.

Would that I could give up the future help from the State (providing, of course, that I get the money that has been taken from me by force I have already contributed (with appropriate interest)) and be allowed to opt out of the system that Mr. Obama envisions.

What Mr. Obama has stated, if only in veiled words, is that it is appropriate action to take from those who make good decisions and invest in their future, and give to those who make poor decisions and live in the "now", without a thought for the future.

And let us not forget that it appears that he finds the bloated, inefficient government departmental bureaucracies to be a Good Thing, if only because they provide jobs for many people who would otherwise not be as successful in private industry. He thinks that there will be no innovation which is not provided for, and financed by, government oversight (with your tax money). DOE, etc will do the job that (in his belief) private industry can't or won't.

His vision of our country is in opposition to mine. He appears to be, at heart, a Statist, and a redistributionist, and a Socialist.

If all these folks quoted by the Won are so keen on getting taxed at a higher rate and all that, why aren't they writing checks to the US Treasury right now? It's not like they US is going to turn the extra cash down or something. I mean, if they (and you!) really believe what you said and all....

I smell something, and it smells like ass, Mr Obama. No one is stopping you from returning your salary while you are in the White House, with all those folks stepping and fetching for you, and free transportation and free food and rent.....After all, by your own definition, you are "rich"

Step up, or shut up.

Put yer money where your mouth is. Set the example. Be the leader. Write the check for the past 2+ years of Presidential salary. Make it out to the U.S. Treasury. Failing that, then pledge this year, and next years salary.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

An email from Mr Boehner, speaker of the house, to whom I had written in support of real budget cuts.

The return reply I got sometime today was, to be honest, a disappointment.

April 12, 2011

Mr. B

Thank you for taking the time to contact me. It's good to hear from you.

Your ideas, comments, and questions help make possible my goal of leading a House of Representatives that listens and reflects the will of the American people. That's why I'd like to ask you to keep speaking out by:

Visiting Speaker.gov to sign up for email updates on issues that concern you;

Offering your solutions and engaging other Americans on the challenges facing our country at AmericaSpeakingOut.com;

I made a Pledge to America to focus on removing government barriers to private-sector job creation and economic growth - that includes cutting spending to help end the uncertainty facing job creators; repealing the job-crushing health care law and replacing it with common sense reforms that lower costs; reining in excessive regulations; and promoting an American Energy Initiative that increases energy production to create jobs and lower energy prices. I also pledged to lead an effort to reform Congress and rebuild the bonds of trust between the American people and their representatives in Washington. I hope you'll stay engaged and keep me updated on your thoughts as we work to keep this pledge.

My reply:
You ass. You are either a total loser at negotiating, or you are stupid enough to let the Democrats lead you around by the nose, or you are actually in league with the tax and spend folks.

Either way, you disappoint me, and many of my fellow citizens. You screwed the fiscal conservatives in this deal, and effectively were complicit in damaging the country farther. How did you serve the people of the United States in any way with your actions regarding the budget of the government of the United States? How did you help any citizen by allowing the incredible amounts of deficit spending to continue?

I had respect for you, once. No more. You have shown yourself to be either in league with those who would spend this country to bankruptcy, or you are a weak leader who cannot fight the good fight in order to better serve the citizens of the United States.

You are not fit, in my opinion for your current position. In fact, your actions on the Budget show that you are not fit to be dogcatcher in a small town. You sir, by your actions, have shown that you should not be Speaker of the House, nor should you represent the Republican Party. You have, by your own actions, damaged this country.

You have failed in your promise to the American people, and have shown yourself to be a failure of the worst kind. I hold nothing but disgust for your actions.

Monday, April 11, 2011

What a waste of time, effort, and a bunch of money that could be used to support a viable candidate.

If he is the best that they Repubs have got to offer, then we had better look forward to another 4 years of the Big "O".

I mean, seriously? As far as I am concerned....No. Just no. Not a chance. Not even a remote one. I won't hold my nose and vote for him like I did McCain in the last election. Just fucking "NO". Fuggedaboutit.

One word: Rommneycare. Need I say more?

He'll crash and burn like a shot down fighter jet over Libya. The sad part is he'll bring a lot of folks down with him. And waste a lot of effort and money doing so.

Brigid is a wonderful friend of mine. Not only on the interwebz, but in Real Life. What is important to her is, by definition of "friend", important to me.

She asked me to post this. Likely, if you read my blog, you also read hers. But, just in case:

Please, go read. Donate if you can. Or not. You have free will... But I think the kids and wife are gonna have a hard enough time, and a donation can help with one small part of their struggle. And enough small donations make for a really big help.

So after I purchased my belts (and I was impressed with his work) from EvylRobot at the Holstersite.com, I had emailed him regarding his custom holsters, and asked him how hard it would be to make a drop leg holster shaped for a 1911? After a LOT of sketches and emails and such, we agreed on a price (I stole this from him!) and a time frame, and the work began.

A few weeks later (and, BTW, at the time specified) I got an email from E.R. that my holster was on its way!

I got the package, and it was exactly as we had discussed (and the holster was nice too)

This holster was designed for a 3" 1911, but the bottom was left open (by design), and it accommodates my full-size pistol as well:

It carries nicely. All of the weight is carried on the belt, and the leg strap secures the holster from swinging too much. It carries my smaller 1911 even better! I can RUN with this holster with no problems!

The holster is molded perfectly for a 1911. Not too tight around the trigger guard (nothing should enter the trigger guard except you trigger finger as you prepare to fire) and a well shaped sight channel. The leatherwork is outstanding, the stitching even and neat. The back of the holster is stiffened, and is designed to protect the leg from the beavertail and hammer.The holster protects the trigger, yet is cut such that gripping the firearm is easy, and draw is smooth and instinctive. Reholstering is easy as well, as the mouth of the holster is reinforced so that it stays open.

The holster is adjustable for height on the support straps using Chicago screws. The buckle is large, square, and easy to manipulate with one hand.

How does it work? It fits well, and the holster sits perfectly to the point where my hand falls at my side.

(click to embigginate all photos)

I think that this is really going to really help my times in PPC

If you have the need for a custom holster, toss an email to Michael at the TheHolsterSite.com I think you'll find that you'll get exactly what you ask for.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

So 38.5 BILLION equals 100 BILLION. At least, that seems to be the way the Republicans do math.

Jesus H. Tapdancing Christ. WTF is wrong with these people?!?

The promise was ONE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS. Which, BTW, wasn't really enough, but would have been a good start. The current deficit, depending on who you ask, is somewhere north of 1.5 trillion dollars. so while the cuts of 100 billion dollars would not have erased the deficit (that is deficit spending, not total debt, by the way) it would have begun a process wherein we could have cut a bit more each year until we as a nation were at parity with our collected taxes in a few (maybe 15) years.

These Republican legislators sold us out. They failed in their promise. $38.5 billion isn't even close.

Just to put things in perspective:

The US was (is?) currently spending one hundred twenty five billion dollars more each month than we, as citizens are giving it in taxes, fees, and other income. $125,000,000,000 EACH MONTH. That is, BTW, one hundred twenty five thousand thousand thousand dollars.

Our legislators cut a really big amount off of that: 3.2 billion per month. $3,200,000,. So this year we as a nation will now go 1.46 trillion dollars farther into debt each year. That number is 1,460,000,000, dollars DEEPER into debt. While I will agree that 1.46 trillion is a smidge better than 1.50 trillion, it really isn't all that much. We are drowning. The hole we are in is being filled with 4 firehoses going full bore....they are bailing with a teaspoon.

$1,500,000,000, (before)
$1,460,000,000, (after)

Not a whole lot of change, is there?

Yeah, those folks in congress and the senate really helped here, didn't they?

A little perspective...
Think about this:
If you were to make a stack of dollar bills (of you could find enough....there aren't actually that many actual bills in existence) containing all of the deficit spending that we do each year, it would make a stack about 537,500 feet high. A little less than 102 miles high. the stack would weigh 3,303,964 pounds...give or take a bit.

Now that the "spending reductions" are in place: The stack of dollar bills that are spending (that we don't have) will only be 523,167 feet high....or only about 99 miles high. It would weigh only 3,215,859 lbs...more or less.

Note: these numbers are for the deficit spending THIS YEAR, not the debt.

Yep. those folks in congress sure fixed things, didn't they?

Sometimes I feel that the ballot box isn't going to get us out of this mess. The soapbox isn't getting the job done either. There are other boxes....

Me? I like lampposts. More visual. But it is hard to get good American made rope these days.

If some parts of government are so "non-essential" that they can easily be furloughed....Are they really needed? While I am sure that the folks in the Department of Agriculture feel that their jobs are essential, and the tasks they labor mightily at are of great importance to the economic health and welfare of this fine country......Counting ears of corn is not really an essential task....Nor will the children of this country stop learning if the Dept. of Ed fails to come to work next Monday....And let us not forget those earnest, hard working folks at the Dept of Energy who labor mightily at....Well, whatever they so mightily labor at. (yeah, I know ending a sentence with a preposition and all that...so sue me). Do we really need all these non-essential personnel? Other than acting as a (well compensated) jobs program, why do we need all these "non-essential" folks?

If these departments of whatever are so little needed that they can be arbitrarily shut down, then, as so many other folks have asked, what for do we need them? Can the Military folks just pack up and go home? I think not. Police? Nope, again, they got to stay at work.

B: Which bringz me to the subject of priorities:

On the one hand, we have the military folks who can't just go home (even though, by my reckoning, we taxpayers will have voided our contract with them by cutting off their pay (should the Goobermint shut down)...on the other hand, those departments which take in money at the IRS will remain open (but not those who hand out refund checks) and those departments of the government who hand out freebies to those who are unwilling to take responsibility for their own welfare help our needier citizens live more fulfilling lives through taxpayer funded assistance will remain open.....How come the screwed up priorities? Do the powers that be really feel that the fine men and women of our military are non-essential? As opposed to the folks who hand out ever increasing amounts of YOUR money to others? Perhaps they are afraid of those "entitled" folks growing angry and rioting? WhatRyaGonnaDo if the military does???

Personally, had I the power to do so, I'd force a shutdown until our legislators could find a way to bring our spending to the point where there IS NO DEFICIT...How they chose to spend that money is another discussion, for another post....

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Either way, this shows that the EPA is (or was?) not doing their jobs properly...

If the levels of recommended isotopes that were previously set were truly safe, and not arbitrary, then increasing them by a factor of 1000X (yes, one thousand times!) is obviously unsafe. On the other hand, if the levels were arbitrarily set way too low, then they have forced unneeded regulatory expenses on industries for years for no apparent increase in safety.

One wonders which it is.

Either way, they show their incompetence...either then, or now.
And makes one wonder why we need the EPA.

Who for the past 20 days or so have predicted that the world would end covered in radioactive dust (or whatever) from the melted/exploded/leaking/radiation spewing abominations that were once peaceful nuclear power generating stations at Fukushima, Japan.

According to their predictions, we should all be dying right now of festering sores, with mutant clublike feet and hands, as our skin falls off in sheets while our hair falls out in the soft blue glow of radioactive contamination, all while children succumb to thyroid cancer and leukemia.

Stuff you should have:#1

If you are in or near NW Indiana:

μολὼν λαβέ

This phrase was reportedly the defiant response of King Leonidas I of Sparta to Xerxes I of Persia when Xerxes demanded that the Greeks lay down their arms and surrender prior to the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC.

About Me

I am just striving towards mediocrity....
Just a normal middle American middle class guy. I own my own business, employ a few people, and try to make a buck. In my (slight) spare time, I read a few blogs, shoot a bit, and rest.